United Kingdom
Paul Abrams is Honorary Professor of Urology at the University of Bristol and a
Consultant Urological Surgeon at the Bristol Urological Institute at North Bristol
NHS Trust. He has also been Chair (2008–2017) of the International Consultation
on Urological Diseases. Professor Abrams is considered one of the world’s
leading experts in the field of lower urinary tract dysfunction.
Professor Abrams obtained his MB ChB from Sheffield University Medical
School in the UK. Between 1974 and 1982, he became Fellow of the Royal
College of Surgeons, received his MD from Bristol University, and was
accredited in urology.
Professor Abrams is particularly interested in benign prostate disease, female
and functional urology, neurourology, and urodynamics. He has 700 research
articles, 62,500 citations, and an “h-index” of 104. He has written and/or edited
more than 20 books and has chapters in more than 30 books. He was Deputy
Editor of Neurourology and Urodynamics (1995–2006) and is a member or
expert reviewer for many leading urology journals.
He is responsible for the introduction of the term “lower urinary tract symptoms”
(LUTS), and with Alan Wein, the term “overactive bladder” (OAB).
Professor Abrams has been General Secretary of the International Continence
Society (ICS; 1985–2003), Chairman of the 1st to 6th International WHO
International Consultations on Incontinence (6th ICI 2016), and was Secretary to
the 7th ICI held in 2021. In addition, he was Chair of the Strategy Planning Office
and a member of the Board of the European Association of Urology and was
Chair of Courses and Consultations at the Société Internationale d’Urologie.
He also founded the ICS-UK (now UKCS), and most recently the ICI Research
Society (2009) which met for the 12th time in 2024.
He has received a number of honours, including the Spence medal from the
AAGUS, the St Peter’s medal from BAUS, the Willy Gregoir medal from the
EAU, and the Francisco Diaz medal from the Spanish Urological Association,
in addition to Lifetime Achievement Awards from the ICS and SUFU, and the
SIU Distinguished Career Award.
He is currently the lead for the Bladder Workstream of NHS England’s National
Bladder and Health Project, Associate Director of BABCON (Bladder and Bowel
CONfidence), a Health Integrated Team programme for Bristol Health Partners,
and Patron of the Association for Continence Professionals (previously ACA).
China
Professor Li-Ping Xie is a preeminent urologist and tenured professor at
First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (FAHZU) in
Hangzhou, China, where he has served as Professor and Chief Doctor since
2000. He held the prestigious position of Chairman of the Department of
Urology at FAHZU from 2007 to 2024 and is now its Honorary Chairman.
Prof. Xie earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Zhejiang Medical
University, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Christian-Albrecht
University of Kiel, Germany.
A globally recognized innovator, Prof. Xie has revolutionized the treatment
of benign prostatic hyperplasia. He pioneered minimally invasive techniques
including transurethral vapor enucleation and resection of the prostate and
transurethral vapor enucleation of the prostate, for which his eSeries was
voted “outstanding” on SIU Academy in 2023. He also invented key surgical
instruments: the Multifunctional Enucleator (DaYu Scalpel) and the Intelligent
Pressure-Controlled Morcellator (Blue Whale), which he has demonstrated
globally. He holds 15 patents. He also collaborates on AI-driven ultrasound
for early prostate cancer detection.
Prof. Xie is a major force in international urology leadership. He was the first
President of the Société Internationale d’Urologie from China (2022–2023),
significantly strengthening SIU–China ties and SIU’s mission to advance urological
care worldwide. He currently serves as Co-President of the International Alliance
of Prostate Health, which he co-founded in 2024 to foster global collaboration in
prostate health. He is also Vice-President of the Chinese Urological Association,
Chairman of the Chinese Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Consortium, and Adjunct
Secretary General of the Urological Association of Asia.
He has been instrumental in bridging European and Chinese urology through
programs like the Chinese Urology Education Program developed with the EAU.
His extensive scholarly contributions include 197 peer-reviewed publications
(notably in the Lancet: The Lancet Commission on prostate cancer: planning for
the surge in cases. Lancet. 2024 Apr 27;403(10437):1683–1722), 20 book chapters,
and 15 patents, earning him recognition as an ELSEVIER Highly Cited Chinese
Researcher. His numerous honours include the EAU Honorary Membership,
WCUS Achievement Award, and the Wu Jieping Prize for Medicine.
India
Professor Ganesh Gopalakrishnan worked at Christian Medical College, Vellore,
his alma mater, from 1976 until his retirement in 2008. After acquiring an MCh
in urology, he honed his skills at Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, UK, from 1981 to
1983. He was awarded an honorary FRCP from Edinburgh, is a past President of
the Urology Society of India, a member of the British Association of Urological
Surgeons, and a life member of the American Urological Association. His
passion for teaching guided his career in the following ways:
Singapore
Prof. Christopher Cheng is a distinguished leader in urology whose career has
been defined by clinical excellence, surgical innovation, dedicated mentorship,
and visionary health care leadership. A senior consultant urologist and founding
CEO of Sengkang General Hospital (SKH), he has significantly advanced
prostate cancer care, minimally invasive surgery, and structured surgical
training across Asia.
Prof. Cheng’s professional journey has paralleled the evolution of urology
in Singapore. After completing surgical training in 1986, he was awarded a
fellowship to the Mayo Clinic, US, for advanced training in uro-oncology. On
returning, he joined several pioneers in establishing urology as a recognized
specialty in Singapore. He later led the introduction of Asia’s first da Vinci
robotic prostatectomy—now standard of care—and developed the patented
Mona Lisa prostate biopsy robot, enabling earlier, more accurate prostate
cancer diagnosis globally.
A passionate educator and mentor, Prof. Cheng was instrumental in building
Singapore’s national urology training program, establishing progressive
examinations and cultivating future leaders. His efforts extended across Asia,
where he supported training for fellows from Japan, China, Vietnam, India, and
beyond—fostering a lasting legacy of regional collaboration and advancement.
As founding CEO of SKH, Prof. Cheng led the hospital from concept to
completion, embedding principles of integrated, patient-centric care that
continue to influence national health care strategies.
He currently holds professorships at Duke-NUS Medical School, NUS-YLL,
and NTU-LKC, and was awarded the inaugural Foo Keong Tatt Distinguished
Professorship in Urology (2023). His achievements have been recognized with
national honours such as the National Outstanding Clinician Award and the
Public Administration Medal (Silver). He has also held leadership roles in the SIU,
the Urological Association of Asia, and other international urological societies.
Prof. Cheng’s legacy spans the clinic, classroom, and boardroom. His lifelong
service has shaped not only urology in Singapore but also the region, leaving
an enduring mark on global urological practice.
Canada
Dr Klotz’s work has had a major impact on the management of every stage of
prostate cancer, with a consistent emphasis on reducing treatment-related
morbidity and improving quality of life without compromising survival. Most
notably, he led the team that established active surveillance for low-risk
prostate cancer, and promoted its adoption worldwide.
For most of his career, he ran a basic science laboratory, with a 15-year focus
on animal models of prostate cancer prevention His research highlighted the
benefits of diet, exercise, micronutrients, and repurposed drugs, resulting in
several patents. He published the first clinical study on intermittent hormonal
therapy for advanced prostate cancer, and demonstrated the cardiovascular
benefits of androgen deprivation therapy antagonists in patients with
pre-existing cardiovascular disease.
He was instrumental in developing TULSA, a novel MRI-guided thermal
ablation therapy for localized prostate cancer. He is a leader of the Captain trial
comparing TULSA to radical prostatectomy which accrued successfully. He has
led large national randomized trials that shifted Canadian practice guidelines
to recommend MRI prior to biopsy, and was the senior author on the OPTIMUM
trial, published in JAMA in 2025, demonstrated the non-inferiority of microultrasound
to MRI.
Dr Klotz has published over 550 peer-reviewed papers and 8 books. He has
served as President of the Canadian Urological Association, Associate Editor of
the Journal of Urology, and is the Editor Emeritus of the CUAJ. He also founded
and continues to lead the Canadian Urologic Research Consortium, conducting
over 30 clinical trials. He chaired UCare, the SIU’s global clinical trials office, and
revitalized the ICUD publication series.
Dr Klotz founded the World Urologic Oncology Federation, growing it from
6 to 21 member societies over 17 years.
A dedicated educator, Dr Klotz founded the University of Toronto Uro-Oncology
Fellowship in 1995 and has mentored hundreds of trainees and fellows. In 2023,
he became the founding chair of the Council for Academic Freedom at University
of Toronto (CAFUT), a group defending academic freedom at the University of
Toronto. He founded the Void, an all-Urology band.
He is a recipient of the Order of Canada, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, the
Huggins Medal, the Harold Warwick Award from the Canadian Cancer Society,
and lifetime achievement awards from the CUA and University of Toronto.
Germany
Karin Lehrich, MD, is an associate professor in the Department of Urology
at the MEOCLINIC, Berlin.
She obtained her medical degree at the Freie Universität Berlin and received
her urology residency training at the Vivantes Auguste-Viktoria-Klinikum,
Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, and the urology department
at the Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin. She subspecialised in endourology
and her main interest the technique of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate
(HoLEP). She introduced the method to Prof. Kuntz’s team in Germany, has done
research in this field, and has published extensively on this topic.
In 2002 she defended her PhD thesis at the Charité Berlin on “Holmium laser
enucleation of the prostate adenomas compared to open prostatectomy of
prostates larger than 100g” and obtained the status of “summa cum laude”
Doctor of Medicine.
From 2012 to 2024, she was Head of Urological Laser Center Berlin. She has
participated as a speaker at several national and international urological
associations and performed laser enucleation procedures at several national
and international live surgery meetings and workshops. In addition to clinical
work and mentoring at the holmium academy, training and teaching in the
technique of enucleation of the prostate has been her main focus for almost
25 years. She organizes preceptorship courses and is a proctor for enucleation
techniques.
Dr Lehrich is member of several national and international societies. She is a
member of the German Working Group of Endourology and has an associate
membership in the EAU section of the endourology prostate working group.
She serves as a reviewer for the World Journal of Urology.
Israel
Born in 1939 in Türkiye, Dr Yachia completed his medical studies and specialist
urology training at the Çapa Department of Urology, University of Istanbul.
He subsequently emigrated to Israel and worked as a senior urologist at the
Hasharon and Kaplan Hospitals.
In 1984, he was selected to establish the Department of Urology at the Hillel Yaffe
Medical Center in Hadera, Israel, and he remained the Chair until his retirement
in 2005. He was awarded the title of Professor of Urology at Technion’s Rappaport
Faculty of Medicine.
Dr Yachia has published more than 100 peer reviewed papers, 52 instructional
videos, 25 book chapters, and 3 books (two of which were awarded “First Prize”
in 1999 and “Highly Recommended” in 2005 by the British Medical Association
Book Contest).
He has developed novel surgical techniques, including “Yachia corporoplasty,”
“Yachia continent stoma,” and “Yachia continent pouch.” Dr Yachia has also
invented medical devices such as the first self-expanding “InStent stents,” the
“Allium Hybrid Stents,” Removable sub-urethral Slings (RemS), Technology
for Accelerating Tissue Regeneration (ATR), externally activated “Intraurethral
Device” to replace self-catheterization; Biofilm Repelling Urethral
Catheter (BRUC) for preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infection, and
technology for preventing hospital-acquired infections, and holds 21 US patents
and many international patents for these devices.
He has been a member of WHO Committees on Non-Surgical and Non-Medical
Treatments of BPH (1992–2001) and on Peyronie’s Disease and other Penile
Deformities (1991–1999); from 1991 to 1999, he was also a member of the
Scientific Board and Teacher of the eUro-Training Post-graduate Urology
School, which is affiliated with the European School of Urology.
In 1996, he established the International Symposium on Urinary Stents in
association with the Endourological Society, in 2012, the International Symposium
on Affordable New Technologies in Urology, in association with the SIU, and in
2018, the Best Affordable New Technologies in Urology Contest, in association
with SANTU.
He has lectured and performed surgeries in various foreign hospitals. In
2017–2021, Dr Yachia was invited as Master on Stents to ENIUS/COST of the
EU HORIZON 2020; and in 2024, to the physics faculty of the University of
Limerick in Ireland as Key Opinion Leader on Ureteral Stents.
Hong Kong SAR
Dr Steffi Yuen has been appointed as the first Li Shu Fan International Professor
by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for her global collaborative
research on the latest cutting-edge technology in endourology. Through the
initiative of the Global FLEXible Ureteroscopy Outcomes Registry—focusing
on flexible and navigable suction ureteral access sheaths (FLEXOR-FANS),
she unites the global endourology community in generating prospective
real‑world data on suction-based technology. She aims to refine patient
selection, optimize practice and technique, and evaluate real-world efficacy
and safety across diverse clinical settings with the latest suction-based
urolithiasis treatment.
A specialist in endourology and minimally invasive surgery, she is passionate
about the clinical integration of cutting-edge technologies at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong, including next-generation ureteroscopes, intelligent
intrarenal pressure, temperature and fluid management platforms, and novel
robotic retrograde intrarenal surgery/ percutaneous nephrolithotomy and laser
systems. She was the architect of her hospital’s comprehensive lower urinary
tract symptoms/ benign prostatic hyperplasia pathway, encompassing the full
spectrum of minimally invasive surgical therapies.
Globally engaged, Dr Yuen is an SIU Innovator and Vice-Chair of the
International Alliance of Urolithiasis Youth Committee. She also holds roles
including associate member of the EAU Endourology research and publication
working group, Asian Urological Surgery Training and Education Group, and
Asian Urological Society of Endoluminal Surgery and Technology, driving
innovation, education, and international collaboration in urology.
PROCEPT BioRobotics is a surgical robotics company focused on advancing patient care
by developing transformative solutions in urology. We develop, manufacture and sell the
AQUABEAM Robotic System, an advanced, image-guided, surgical robotic system for
use in minimally-invasive urologic surgery with an initial focus on treating benign prostatic
hyperplasia, or BPH. Our proprietary AQUABEAM Robotic System delivers Aquablation
therapy, which combines real-time, multidimensional imaging, personalized treatment
planning, automated robotics and heat-free waterjet ablation for targeted and rapid
removal of prostate tissue.
Aquablation therapy delivers effective, safe and durable outcomes for males suffering
from lower urinary tract symptoms, or LUTS, due to BPH that are independent of prostate
size and shape or surgeon experience.
For more information, please visit: www.procept-biorobotics.com
